


Sing Me To Sleep

by Dazed_and_Inked



Series: A Light That Never Goes Out - Series [2]
Category: Fantastic Four (Comicverse), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Fluff, Idiots in Love, M/M, Marvel 616/MCU Crossover, Morning After, Post-Spider-Man: Far From Home, Precious Peter Parker, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, fanart inside
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2021-01-27 19:49:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21397702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dazed_and_Inked/pseuds/Dazed_and_Inked
Summary: When J.J Jameson yelled Spidey's true identity at the world, Johnny was waiting for him on the top of the Statue of Liberty.They had set this date a couple of days before and Johnny was so nervous: his friendly neighborhood boyfriend had just got back from Europe after fighting some huge, made-of-drones monsters and a douche that looked really good even wearing a fish bowl.
Relationships: Peter Parker/Johnny Storm
Series: A Light That Never Goes Out - Series [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1542619
Comments: 2
Kudos: 115





	Sing Me To Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> After writing the first work for the "SpideyTorch Week 2019", I decided to keep going and make it a series!  
I just wanted to try something different and develop these characters a bit more. I really like the idea of these two idiots facing the aftermath of Spidey's identity reveal. 
> 
> Feel free to leave comments, suggestions or just share your love for Peter and Johnny.
> 
> (Title from "Asleep" by The Smiths)

When J.J Jameson yelled Spidey's true identity at the world, Johnny was waiting for him on the top of the Statue of Liberty. They had set this date a couple of days before and Johnny was so nervous: his friendly neighborhood boyfriend had just got back from Europe after fighting some huge, made-of-drones monsters and a douche that looked really good even wearing a fish bowl. He had followed the news day and night, anxiety bubbling up in his chest every time Spider-man was hit or crashed to the ground. Johnny couldn't live like that, for the first time in his life he was ready to use the patented Disappointed Glare and give that little spider a real speech like only a Storm could do.

He was waiting, squinting at the skyline to catch a glimpse of a swinging figure, when his mobile rang with a notification from Google Alarm (yes, he was so worried he set the thing to follow every bit of news about Spiderman and the Night Monkey, too.) He opened the link without even thinking and found that grumpy journalist's face streaming direct on Twitter, talking about Spider-Man killing a man somewhere in London. Bullshit, of course it's all bullshit, he knew Spidey well enough to know that murder wasn't his style (not knew knew, he still hasn't revealed his identity to Johnny, but that's not the point). He could have never done that! He was already closing the app, rolling his eyes at the statement, when the bald man said The Name. For a few seconds, Johnny wasn't really sure of what he had just heard. He paused the video and stared at the smiling face on the screen of his mobile: a guy with bright green eyes, pinky cheeks covered with a dust of light freckles, a mop of unruly brown hair falling graciously on his forehead. Johnny could have thought it was all a fake, but the guy's lips were unmistakable. They were Spidey's thin lips, Johnny was sure of that as much as he was sure of their softness.

Now Spiderman had a face and a name and it felt so odd. Of course, Johnny wanted to know his boyfriend identity (some days the situation was so frustrating) but he really made the effort not to act like an inpatient child (although Johnny is an impatient child.) Once, back when they were just friends, Spidey explained to him why keeping the secret was so important to him, all his worries, his fears - and Johnny respected his will. Spidey could be so caring, so selfless towards the people he loved, and the thought warmed his chest with fondness and not fire.

Now Johnny knew, and maybe he should have been glad but all he could feel was… annoyance. He had been waiting for years for Spider to tell him the truth. Years spent trying to be mature enough to make him feel safe, pretending it wasn't a big deal, month spent kissing that beautiful mouth without knowing his owner. Johnny had the right to know Spidey secret identity, more than the whole city. It wasn't fair! Spiderman was his and his only, that journalist had nothing to do with that. New York had nothing to do with that.

"Peter Parker," Johnny said out loud, tasting every letter of his tongue. It sounded good, really good.

He waited up there for 30 minutes, then an hour. At some point Johnny started pacing around, too nervous to sit down, too worried about his beloved spider boyfriend.

_Maybe they already took him, he thought desperately, the coops or the S.H.I.E.L.D. or some of the other superhero on their payroll. How the hell am I supposed to break him out from a federal prison?! Reed, certainly he knows someone, he can make a few calls and everything will be fine, fine. No, Nick Fury worked with Spiderman before, he must know this is a lie, maybe he will help, maybe Peter is already hidden somewhere. _

Johnny stopped and closed his eyes, breath in, breath out. They had faced worst. They’d been snapped away, they could handle a journalist and his accusations. But he had revealed Spidey’s identity and Johnny could only imagine what this would mean for him. He never had this problem: everyone was well aware that Johnny Storm is the Human Torch, that the Fantastic Four are his family and they clearly have no problem defending themselves from crazy, too colorful villains, aliens, monsters and all that jazz. But that nice aunt Spiderman always talks about? His friends in high school? He really doubts they could deal with the same threat superheroes do everyday. They’ll have to find a way to protect them, though protection is never enough.

Johnny kept waiting there, thinking about a complete series of worst case scenarios. The only thing that interrupted his stream of thoughts was Susan, who called to order him to go back to the tower for some stupid boring meeting. With a sigh, Johnny set himself on fire and took off, giving a last glance around hoping to find a familiar figure.

***

Turns out the stupid boring meeting is a quite serious family meeting. Johnny flew through the window of his bedroom and peeked into the dining room. Ben was sitting on the couch, Reed was on the armchair with Susan on its armrest. Of course, they were watching the latest news about Spiderman. When he stepped into the room, trying to be as quiet as possible, their eyes moved immediately from the screen to his face, he could almost feel the pressure burning his skin.

“Hey guys, what’s up?” he tried to say casually, but it sounded weird even to his ears. After a few awkward moments of silence, Susan is the first one to talk.

“Did you see it, Johnny? I mean… the news,” she said, using her mom tone, sweet and cautious, that always made him feel uneasy. Johnny lay on the doorframe, watching some point outside the large window.

“Ehm… yeah. On Twitter,” and his answer was caused even more silence and staring. He shook his head vigorously.

“Ok. Let’s talk about this. Yes, Spiderman has a name, thank God for that, and no, I’m sure he didn’t kill that man. Did I wanted to discover it like this? Hell no, but there’s not much I can do now except wait.”

Susan huffed half a laugh, “Of course he didn’t kill anybody, I mean, we didn’t need to see his real puppy eyes to know he wouldn’t do anything like that. It’s just journalism, a really nasty one.”

Oh well, he didn’t have to convince them about Peter innocence as he had planned.

“If you are not worried I’m dating a murderer, what’s all of this about?” and he really wanted to know because, seriously, he didn’t have time for this stuff right now. He should be outside, looking for Peter, then slap him in his stupid cute face, hug him tight and reassure him.

The worst thing was that Susan was looking at him with soft, concerned eyes. Johnny hates seeing that face, he wants her to be happy and carefree (as much a bad-ass superheroine engaged to crazy Dr. Richards could be.)

“We are just worried, Johnny,” Reed said, “we know this doesn’t involve you directly but, you and Spiderman are really close and, well, we want to help you and him in any way possible. I’m quite sure he’s not having a great time right now.”

“Yeah, I know an-and I don’t know where he is now and I’m so scared he might never come back,” Johnny said, dropping on the couch next to Ben. He took his head between his hands, trying to remember his breathing exercises. Ben put his big, heavy hand on his shoulder and it’s incredible that his touch can be so delicate.

“I’m sure he’s fine, kid,” Ben said, squeezing his shoulder a bit, “that little bug knows how to protect himself.”

“I know that, but I don’t want him to deal with this all alone.”

***

That night, when Johnny left the kitchen after the usual dinner with his family, he overheard Reed in his lab talking business with someone, trying to get information about Spiderman. Back in his room, Johnny left the window open, just a little bit, like he had done for years now. You never know when a spider could pay a visit.

***

The first time, Johnny woke up at an ungodly time in the morning. Peter's head was heavy on his chest and their legs were so tangled he couldn't feel them anymore. Not that he was complaining, nothing would have brought him to move from this odd position, not even aliens attacking New York again. He craned his neck a little to look at the other boy sound asleep in his arms: his dark mussed hair were a pleasant contrast to Johnny's stark white T-shirt, he was snoring softly and Johnny swears he could see a bit of drool coming from his mouth and making his lips glossy. Probably, he should have found this last part quite gross, but he had learnt a long ago that Pete could make everything look cute. Johnny tightened his arm around Peter's shoulders. He would never forget the painful sense of emptiness he had felt the first night without him, just the thought made his heart ache again. He was well aware that hard times were yet to come, but he was determined to stick by Peter's side and protect him no matter what. He was so caught up playing the White Knight that only Peter's hand slipping under the hem of his t-shirt could torn him from his thoughts. Johnny fell asleep again after a few minutes, with Peter chasing the warmth coming from his skin.

The second time Johnny woke up, he could see the sunlight coming through the window and hear the familiar sounds of the city. One of them must have turned during the morning, because now he was spooning Peter's slim figure. The other boy was still asleep, he could feel the soothing rise and fall of his back against his own chest. He didn't mean to disturb his boyfriend, but Johnny couldn't help pressing his lips on the pale skin of Peter's neck, so smooth and soft. Once, then twice, again and again, tightening his arm around the other boy's waist and moving him closer. Before he could move this trail of kisses to the other small portions of visible freckled skin, Peter stirred into his arms.

"'Morning, Sparky," he muffled into the pillow with a tiny smile on his lips.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," Johnny whispered into the other's ear, "how do you feel?". Peter turned his head enough to catch the blonde's lips. It started as a chaste brush, but quickly escalated to a deep, hungry kiss that left them both a bit breathless.

"Way better," Peter murmured against the other's mouth, who was grinning like the happiest fool on this earth and the others.

"Oh Hell, Webhead, I missed you so much," and they threw themselves into another heated kiss, full of worries and promises. Peter tangled his fingers in the blonde locks of hair falling on his cheeks, while Johnny left his hand roam under thin fabric, making Peter shiver and gasp and smile.

They parted again just because breathing was essential to continue. Johnny fell back on his pillow and Peter turned to face him, leaning into the palm of his hand and watching him with amusement. Johnny knew he was overheating, he could feel the warmth leaving his body in waves. Peter must have noticed that too, because he was licking the pad of his index finger and pressing it to the tip of his nose. The comical frizzle coming from his skin made Peter chuckle.

"Are you that happy to see me, Torchy?" he teased with a smirk. "Aw, shut up," Johnny groaned and took another pillow to cover his face. Of course, his strength was nothing compared to Peter's, who snatched the pillow away effortlessly.

"Look at the famous Human Torch, all heat and red cheeks for the big, bad Spiderman," and with that he shoved a fist in front of Johnny's face like holding a microphone, "is there something you want to say to the Daily Bugle?"

"Yes. I hate you," he answered, giving Peter a half hearted glare. "No, you don't," and he leaned closer to kiss his burning cheek.

They laid together in a comfortable silence for a while, just looking at each other and stealing a few touches and more kisses. Peter hugged Johnny’s midsection and pulled him closer, placing his head in the crook of his neck.

“What you said before… Did you really miss me, Flamebrain?”, he asked taking a deep breath. Johnny run his finger through dark, unruly locks of hair.

“Of course I missed you Pete. I was so worried about you, with the murder and the identity thing. I was afraid I- I would have never seen you again. Ask the others if you want, Sue would be more than happy to tell you all the embarrassing things I’ve said and done these days. Juicy details included.”

“I missed you, too. These two week and half were the longest I’ve ever had. I’m tired of being locked up in a safe house, waiting for someone else to solve this mess”, Peter sighed, “but I don’t know what to do, it all happened so fast."

Johnny rubbed his back in wide, soothing circles. “I know, but they just want to keep you and your family safe. Superhero or not, there is stuff you can’t do nothing about. Let them handle this and take it like a vacation, I’m sure you need one.” Peter huffed a small laugh.

“Of course, but it feels more like imprisonment.” Johnny took Peter’s chin between his fingers and tilted his head up gently.

“Hey, it’ll be fine. It’s not so bad not having a secret identity, you know? You’ll get used to it. When people’ll finally know the truth, they’ll love you again. Superheroes are just… humans with abilities, we all make mistakes.”

“Captain America was never charged with murder, and-,” Peter tried to point out, but Johnny cut him off.

“Oh Peter, don’t even start with that. Of course they never accused him, he killed nazis! And your beloved Tony Stark? Don’t get me wrong, I have his poster on the wall and I got completely tongue-tied when Reed introduced us; but he had been selling weapons for years before becoming Iron Man, and he made serious mistakes even after that. Take me, I’ve been caught drunk in gay clubs more times I’d like to admit, that pictures were printed on tabloids,” he paused to kiss the tip of Peter’s nose, “You never did anything wrong, and we’ll do anything to make them understand”.

Johnny really hoped the speech would cheer the other up a bit, but the other's head had fallen on his chest again, hiding his beautiful face.

"You know I'd do anything for you, Webhead?" Peter nodded, brushing his nose on his skin. "Hey, tell me something. You are staying in a safe house, right? With agents and everything," Johnny brushed the other's calf with his foot, "how did you get out of there?"

Peter's head snapped up and he could finally see mischief light up his eyes, and oh, that look never failed to make his knees go weak.

"The roof. I used E.D.I.E to hack the security system and stop it for a few minutes, enough to sneak to the roof and swing away," he shrugged like it was perfectly normal.

"E.D.I.E?", Johnny asked him with a yawn.

"Mr. Stark's latest A.I., it's a long story. I never had the chance to tell you about my trip in Europe. I-I even bought silly souvenirs for you…" and if there was something he loved more than Peter being a nerd, that was watching him blush from the base of his neck to the tip of his ears.

"You little Spider," Johnny smirked, but he felt another type of warmth pooling at the pit of his stomach, "I'm happy you thought about me even while you were away". He kissed Peter's forehead and combed one of his stray curls behind.

"I want to know everything about that, even the Night Monkey part".

The boy laughed, the clear sound filled Johnny’s ears and the whole room.

"How do you know that? In my defense, the name was Ned’s idea,” he asked surprised. Johnny frowned at him.

“I’m a blonde but not that much. I can recognize an idiot climbing walls and swinging around, even in a black suit,” then he added with a quirked eyebrow , “which, by the way, looked really really good on you.” Peter smiled shyly, but his mood changed suddenly.

“I really want to tell you everything, but I can’t do it right now. I should go back to the safehouse, should have done it yesterday night. I can't ignore May's calls anymore," and with that he slowly disentangled himself from Johnny, who dragged himself out of the bed as well.

Peter found his backpack under the bed, he took out the Spiderman suit, the clothes he wore the previous and turned his back to walk to the bathroom. Johnny stood completely still in the middle of his bedroom: he couldn’t stand the idea of watching him leave, not knowing when they would have met again; but locking his boyfriend up into the Baxter Building wasn’t much different from forcing him into a safehouse. When Peter came out of the bathroom, he was wearing that pair of washed jeans and that worn-out, grey hoodie again. Johnny moved closer and started stroking the other’s arms and shoulders. They both sighed heavily.

“I don’t want you to go,” Johnny murmured. “I know, Flamebrain, but I have to”. They hugged tightly, holding onto each other and trying to forget what had happened in the last couple of weeks. When they parted, the pain in Peter’s eyes made him so angry: he wanted to rush outside and punch Mysterio, Jameson and whoever hated Spiderman in the face.

Then, he had the worst idea ever (ask Sue, she knew they were Johnny’s real superpower.)

“Wait. What abou- I mean, I could come with you. Take you back to the safe house and stay there for a while. I’m the Human Torch after all, I don’t think Nick Fury would refuse my help. Our help.” Peter’s eyes went wide and he stammered a bit before talking.

“You willingly want to get bored to death inside a safehouse. With me. The whole time. Are you mad?”, his voice was trembling a bit with anxiety.

“Better being locked up together, don’t you think? I’ve already spent a lot of time with you, I’m quite used to your way-too-chatty personality, your hysterical attacks, all of your flaws and…”

“And I’m quite used to your irritating personality,” Peter cut his list sharply, but with a fond smile on his face. “Would you really do that, Torchy?”, he asked softly.

Johnny closed the small gap between them and kissed him again, slowly and softly. “Of course I would, idiot. However, if you start hating me more than usual, I could leave the house whenever you need more space.”

Peter hesitated, Johnny could hear him thinking intently. “Ok,” he answered finally, “but I don’t want to bother you or your family. If they need your help, you’ll leave me there and do your job.”

Johnny’s face lit up with excitement. “Yes, whatever you want. I promise.”

Peter rolled his eyes good naturedly. “I wish I heard these words more often,” then he shoved the blonde’s shoulder lightly, “C’mon, we need to go now.”

“Yes. Give me a minute to leave a message to the others, then we can take one of the cars downstairs”.

When he left the bedroom to walk into the empty kitchen, Peter followed him and snatched a cookie from the jar on the table. While he was writing a note to leave on the fridge, a thought struck Johnny’s mind. He swallowed thickly, turning at the other boy, who was devouring another cookie.

“You know, Pete,” he said casually, “I was thinkin-,”

“I don’t like it when you do that, I like you blonde for a reason,” Peter teased him, and in other occasion this would have been the beginning of their usual banter.

“I was thinking, I’ll finally have the occasion to meet the lovely aunt you always talk about.”

Peter almost choked on his third cookie.

***

There was nothing better than a hot cup of tea after a long, exhausting mission. Sue was nursing her fine earl grey, thinking about everything and nothing, while waiting for Reed to come back from the lab downstairs.

A slammed door distracted Sue from her drink, and she was quite sure Johnny was talking animatedly to someone else. She was well-aware of the fact that his brother could be weird sometimes, but she was sure he wasn't talking to himself. Sue put the mug of tea on the counter and moved closer to the door. At that distance, she could hear another familiar voice talking to Johnny. If she were a better sister, she would have broken down the door to yell something about secret encounters and safe sex (and maybe she would, just to embarrass her brother to death), but she knew how much Johnny needed this.

The last two weeks were hard: the Human Torch was too distracted, too reckless to accomplish any mission; while Johnny was just a faded copy of her brother. She could already see the love (because that is what it was) he felt for Peter, even before he knew his name. The intensity of his feelings was quite scary, but what happened when they were forced apart was even worse.

Sue waited for all the noises to stop, then she turned invisible and went to Johnny's room. She opened the door slowly, just enough to step inside without making too much noise. What she found inside made was so tender she couldn't help smiling fondly: the two boys were already asleep, they were hugging each other under the thin blanket so tightly they were almost melting into each other's body. She couldn't see Johnny's face very well, the dim light from the street glowing gently on his features, but she could see that the crease between his brows had finally smoothed.

She glanced at the other boy, sound asleep in the bed with his brother. It was weird to finally “meet” who was hidden behind Spiderman’s mask, but it didn’t change her opinion about him: she liked having the boy around, his continuous chatter and his long, nerdy talks with Reeds had become a familiar sound. They all have gotten used to his presence and, sometimes, it was like another younger, smartass brother. She knew that the Fantastic Four would have done everything in their power to protect him.

So, she started with something easy.

She found Peter’s backpack half opened near the bed and fished inside to for his mobile phone. After leaving the room again, she unlocked the device - having the highest technologies around the house can be really useful - and started looking for a familiar name in the contact list, the one that had already tried more than 15 missed calls. Sue waited patiently for someone to pick up the phone on the other side.

“Oh my God,” a voice screamed into her ear, “Peter Benjamin Parker where the hell are you? I have read the note you left, ho-how can I not be worried about you when you decide to sneak out in the middle of the night!?”

The tone made Sue shudder. She knew it too well: she uses the same tone with Johnny all the time. Surprisingly enough, she hesitated for a second before answering - she could hear the other voice going on with the lecture.

“Mrs. Parker, I’m sorry to bother you at this hour of the night,” Peter’s aunt stopped talking, clearly taken aback, “My name is Sue Storm. I’m calling just to say that Peter is spending the night at the Baxter Building. As you can imagine, he’s safe and sound here.” A few moments of silence followed.

“HE’S WHERE?!”

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/182840295@N02/49050111377/in/dateposted-public/)

**Author's Note:**

> If you are reading this, I really hope you enjoyed my work!
> 
> (I'll probably write another part, but at the moment I'm quite busy with other WIPs.)
> 
> Thank you [borntovixx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/borntovixx/pseuds/borntovixx) , you're the best and I'll tell you everyday.
> 
> Visit my [Tumblr](https://dazedandinked.tumblr.com/) for other fanarts, stuff and to fangirl together about anything!


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